Red Yarn
by Babyfruitstyles
Summary: Fai-kitty has a new toy! He could want nothing more than to play with it all night long. Unfortunately, the toy has other plans; namely, holding him captive, clearly to digest him slowly. Kuro-puppy to the reluctant rescue! Oneshot, Animal AU, Fluff...literally. Kittens are quite fluffy so I've been told.


**A/N: Ha...ha...I wrote this a few months ago whilst obsessing over KuroFai, but never posted it...and I like red string of fate symbolism...so yeah.**

**I'm trying to work on incorporating "thoughts and feelings" into my stories...and I dunno, I think it turned out okay :D**

**An Angora is a very pretty breed of cat, if you didn't know~**

**Btw, at first Mokona was gonna be a pork bun, but then I realized that pork buns aren't alive! :O who knew, right?**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tsubasa.**

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Kurogane peered over the edge of his dog bed through half-lidded eyes. It was evening; the little German Shepherd puppy had spent the day running around outside with the neighbor's puppy Syaoran, killing random animals and burning off steam. Now, with that energy spent, he felt no urge to do anything but lounge around. The fuzzy microfibers of the bed tickled his chin pleasantly, and the puppy let out a relaxed breath through his nose.

His lazy gaze was vaguely directed at the middle of the room, where a golden Angora kitten lay sprawled on the floor. His...housemate.

The kitten, named Fai, was rolling around on his back in what he seemed to believe was the most interesting activity in the world: playing with yarn. It was an odd spectacle. The kitten would tackle the ball of bright red yarn, bat it between his paws a few times, then roll over onto his back and start tossing it in the air. The ball would fall down and land squarely in his practiced paws, in the process unwinding a little and splaying red across the kitten's chest. Then the ball would slip from his grasp and bounce away, and Fai would go after it, and the whole process would begin again, like a weird waltz around and around the room. Kurogane wondered how Fai could find so much enjoyment in such a frivolous activity. The puppy had tried it once - when no one was around, of course - but found he couldn't tolerate it for more than one or two rounds before growing bored and leaving to go take his frustrations out on some unsuspecting squirrel.

_Must be a cat thing,_ Kurogane thought. He kept his eyes trained on the flurry of blonde fur. He had to admit, though the yarn-chasing itself was dreadfully boring, Kurogane did derive limited interest from watching it. As the minutes wore on, Fai had to concentrate more and more to lock onto the quickly diminishing plaything. And more and more loose yarn was left draped about him and strewn across the floor.

But the interesting factor in this inevitably wore out as well, and Kurogane found his eyelids drooping further, until they were completely closed.

It had been a tiring day. He really could use some sleep. The puppy welcomed the feeling of it washing over him. Relaxing...fading...into blackness...

"Waaah! Kuro-wan! Help meeeee!"

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Kurogane opened one eye and glared at Fai. "What is it?" he deadpanned, voice muffled by the furry paw tucked under his chin.

"The yarn is eating me!" Fai meowed in distress.

From what Kurogane could see, the yarn was doing no such thing. Fai _had_ seemed to have gotten himself into an uncomfortable situation, however. The ball of yarn was no longer a ball. Instead, it had unwound into one long red strand, and the kitten had somehow managed to get himself completely tied up with it. His forelegs were bound to his sides, with only a small amount of wiggle room which he used to tug at the strings, only succeeding in becoming more ensnared. His wriggling didn't do much more to help.

Fai whimpered, a sound that would've been pitiful if not for the poorly hidden smile stretched across his face. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Ugh..." Kurogane dragged himself out of his warm bed and onto his feet. His bark, tired and now irritated, found an edge of exasperation. "How on _Earth_ did you manage to tie yourself up by just hitting the frickin' yarn back and forth?"

"I didn't tie myself up! It was trying to eat me!" Fai insisted, rolling over onto his belly so that his chin was flattened against the hardwood. "And Kuro-sama has to save me!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Why me?"

"I don't see any other big, strong puppies in the room, do you? I'm just a kitty! You can't expect me to defeat all this yarn!" Fai made a pouty face.

Despite his grumbled protest, Kurogane was already padding over to the trapped kitten. He knew from experience that if he didn't, the cat would only persist until he got his way.

Fai sat up as the puppy reached him. Kurogane grabbed the first loop of yarn he saw between his teeth and yanked as hard as he could, willing it to be all the effort he'd have to exert.

"Oww!" The force of the pull tightened the yarn around Fai's neck. He writhed against the pressure. "Kuro-pon, you're choking me!"

Kurogane let go and sat back heavily on his haunches. "Well, what do you want me to do?!"

"Be gentle!"

He sighed. Oh, of course. Gentle. It obviously came naturally to him. Just ask that nice squirrel from earlier...oh wait, it was dead. Kurogane extended a claw and hooked the strand of yarn hung around Fai's neck. Maybe he could loop it over his head and untangle him that way. He tried this; it worked just fine. When he withdrew his paw, however, the yarn was yanked along with his claw, and yanked Fai along with it, causing the kitten to fall against him with an "oomph."

Kurogane pushed him off roughly and glanced at his claw. He emitted a low growl. It was snagged on the yarn. He batted the strand with his other paw to detach it, but then that paw became snagged too. He pulled at the vile string in frustration, but to no avail.

Great. Now he was stuck too.

Fai let out an amused purr at the murderous intent building quickly behind his friend's eyes. This incited a growl from said friend, which got a smile in reply. "Never fear! I'll save you!"

Fai shifted around so he could see Kurogane's paws, took the yarn in his teeth, which were much more delicate than the puppy's, and pulled. The yarn stubbornly remained clinging to Kurogane's claws. Fai pulled harder, leaning back to use his weight...and toppled over backwards. The force threw up a cloud of loose string and drew Kurogane's paws roughly forward, and he lost his balance as well, falling in a heap on top of Fai.

Kurogane cursed under his breath and made to stand up; his efforts were cut off abruptly by a loop of string that had somehow, somehow wound itself around his shoulders. The parasite travelled down to his neck to throttle him as he stood. He dropped back down in haste.

The puppy let out a low growl. Well, this was great. Tied up with the cat. Just great.

Fai, not phased in the least, assessed the situation with a contemplative smile. Was there any easy way out of this predicament? Why was the yarn holding them captive? Would it let go if he asked nicely?

Finally, having come up with nothing, he did what any respectable young feline would do: buried his face in the puppy's fur and purred.

The fur on the back of Kurogane's neck rose, and he growled loudly in response. Didn't this guy know a life or death situation when he saw one? Unlike Fai, who would take every opportunity to rub against their owner's legs and curl up in her lap, Kurogane was not the cuddly type. He saw no reason to rub one's fur against another unless it was bitterly cold and therefore necessary for survival. But he couldn't pull away, he realized bitterly, as he didn't cherish the thought of death by suffocation. Though with the fluffiness of Fai's fur, he could very well suffocate anyway...

Sigh... Seeing nothing else to do, he flopped over on his side, succumbing to kitten's utterly feline desire to cuddle. However, never one to go down without a fight, he made sure to plant a firm scowl on his muzzle. It had to be perfectly clear that he was not, repeat, not enjoying it.

This turned out to be an excellent plan, as moments later, a bundle of white fur barreled into the room. A very...unwelcome bundle.

"MOKONA IS HOME! MOKONA IS HOME!" Mokona the rabbit turned a somersault as it announced its presence to the universe. "MOKONA IS- waaaaah!"

Crash.

Mokona was so considerate to greet the wall when it came home every day.

The rabbit shook itself off and, unphased as always, smiled proudly and hopped up to Kurogane and Fai, still bound together in a heap. It stared at them in fascination.

Kurogane glowered. "What're you looking at?"

Mokona was silent for a moment. Then it suddenly broke out into an ecstatic smile. "Red string!"

"...what?"

"Red string! Red string!" Mokona bounded backwards and began hopping circles round and round the room. "Red stringggggg~!"

Before Kurogane could further question its incomprehensible motives, he was cut off by another voice.

"And what're you all up to?"

Fai immediately shot up in a burst of force, flipping himself and the one tied to him completely over so that the cat was sprawled on top of Kurogane. Backside now unhindered, Fai waved his tail cheerfully to greet the new visitor.

The tatami-dulled click of high heels brought a woman into the room, a human, very tall with arrow-straight black hair falling down her back. She gave a luxurious stretch - as if she had just been doing some strenuous activity, which she most likely hadn't - and smiled. "Been causing mischief, I see."

"The usual, Yuuko," meowed Fai.

The woman, if you hadn't guessed, was their owner, Yuuko the fortune teller. "You know she can't understand you, right?" mumbled Kurogane through the faceful of fur suffocating him. His comment went blatantly ignored.

Yuuko knelt down and scooped up the string-tied parcel. Her eyes glimmered with amusement, typical of those who find their pets in odd situations. "How _did_ you manage to get tied up like that?"

Without waiting for an answer - also typical of those who find their pets in odd situations - she began unwinding them.

_Yes! Thank you!_ Kurogane thought. He had never realized what an evil substance yarn was until this day, and was in bliss to be rid of it.

Yuuko, with her fingers inhumanly agile, handled the yarn expertly without even getting snagged. Before unwinding the last knot, however, she stopped. One lone length of red yarn remained, one end wound around Fai's right paw, the other around Kurogane's.

Yuuko's subtle, cryptic smile widened into an unmistakable grin, and she laughed and set them down without removing the yarn.

"What? No! Hey! We're not-" Yuuko ignored Kurogane's protests and walked away, presumably to bully her servant into making dinner and then get on with the evening. Mokona rode her out of the room, waving to Kurogane and Fai before disappearing around the bend.

Kurogane growled at the now-empty doorway. Why? Why was she leaving him like this? He was used to his owner abusing him in weird ways, but this way seemed rather pointless.

He turned tail on the door with a huff.

Fai seemed to have no problem with the yarn still around his paw, and shook himself vigorously to fluff up his fur again.

Then he looked at the puppy. Looked down at the puppy's paw. Traced the red string down to his own paw. And covered his mouth to suppress a giggle.

Kurogane didn't really want to know what he found so funny. Probably some weird inside joke with Yuuko, if that was possible. In any case, he was tired. Time for bed.

Expert ninja-puppy that he was, Kurogane tugged his paw out of the now-somewhat-loose loop of yarn and headed back toward his bed.

Fai collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Shaking his head, Kurogane curled up once more in the warm woolen lining and sighed.

He would never understand cats.


End file.
